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Palestinian Republic
The Palestinian Republic is an Arab state in the Middle East, established by the Federal State of Israel. It gained independence with aid from the Israeli government on November 15, 2009. It is a Parliamentary Democracy and its President is Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad. It is controlled by its government, named the Palestinian National Authority. The Palestinian Republic is made up of the former West Bank and Gaza Strip, making it a divided nation, separated by Israeli territory. The Palestinian Republic gained United Nations membership in late 2010 after being invited and supported by Israel to become a member. History British Mandate The British Mandate for Palestine, also known as the Palestine Mandate and The British Mandate of Palestine, was a legal commission for the administration of Palestine, the draft of which was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations on July 24, 1922 and which came into effect on September 26, 1923. The document was based on the principles contained in Article 22 of the draft Covenant of the League of Nations and the San Remo Resolution of April 25, 1920 by the principal Allied and associated powers after the First World War. The mandate formalised British rule in the Southern part of Ottoman Syria from 1923–1948. With the League of Nations' consent on September 16, 1922, the UK divided the Mandate territory into two administrative areas, Palestine, under direct British rule, and autonomous Transjordan, under the rule of the Hashemite family from the Kingdom of Hejaz in present-day Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the McMahon Correspondence of 1915. Following the 1922 Transjordan memorandum, the area east of the Jordan river became exempt from the Mandate provisions concerning the Jewish National Home. The British had notified the U.N. of their intent to terminate the mandate not later than August 1, 1948. The Jewish Leadership led by future Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared independence on Friday, May 14, 1948. The State of Israel declared itself as an independent nation, and was quickly recognised by the Soviet Union, the United States, and many other countries, but not by the surrounding Arab states. Over the next few days, approximately 700 Lebanese, 1,876 Syrian, 4,000 Iraqi, 2,800 Egyptian troops invaded Palestine. Around 4,500 Transjordanian troops, commanded by 38 British officers who had resigned their commissions in the British army only weeks earlier (commanded by General Glubb), invaded the Corpus separatum region encompassing Jerusalem and its environs (in response to the Haganah's Operation Kilshon), as well as areas designated as part of the Arab state by the UN partition plan. On the date of British withdrawal, the Jewish provisional government declared the formation of the State of Israel. The partition plan required that the proposed states grant full civil rights to all people within their borders, regardless of race, religion or gender. The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a resolution adopted on November 29, 1947 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Its title was United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (II) Future Government of Palestine. The resolution recommended the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the partition of the territory into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, with the Jerusalem-Bethlehem area being under special international protection, administered by the United Nations. The resolution also contained a plan for an economic union between the proposed states, and a plan for the protection of religious and minority rights. The resolution sought to address the conflicting objectives and claims to the Mandate territory of two competing nationalist movements, Zionism (Jewish nationalism) and Arab nationalism, as well as to resolve the plight of Jews displaced as a result of the Holocaust. Israeli-Palestinian Conflicts The resulting war sparked by the declaration of Israeli independence generated a period of Israeli-Arab wars and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by Israelis as the War of Independence was the first in a series of wars fought between the State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict. The war commenced upon the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine and the Israeli declaration of independence on May 15, 1948, following a period of civil war in 1947–1948. The fighting took place mostly on the former territory of the British Mandate and for a short time also in the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon. Much of what Arabs refer to as the Catastrophe (Arabic: النكبة‎, al-Nakba) occurred amidst this war. The war concluded with the 1949 Armistice Agreements. The Six-Day War, also known as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War or the Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and June 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt then as the United Arab Republic (UAR), Jordan, and Syria. The war began with a large-scale surprise air strike by Israel on Egypt. The outcome was a swift and decisive Israeli victory. Israel took effective control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Opinions are divided on whether Israel's attack was an act of aggression or a preemptive strike of a defensive nature. The status of the territories captured by Israel during the war and the concurrent refugee problem are central concerns in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, raising issues in international law, and having far-reaching consequences in global affairs. The First Intifada (1987–1993) (also "intufada") was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Despite violent acts, Palestinian actions primarily included nonviolent civil disobedience and resistance movement. There were general strikes, boycotts on Israeli products, refusal to pay taxes, graffiti, and barricades, but the Palestinian demonstrations that included stone-throwing by youths against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) defined the violence for many. Intra-Palestinian violence was a prominent feature of the Intifada, with widespread executions of alleged Israeli collaborators. While Israeli forces killed an estimated 1,100 Palestinians and Palestinians killed 164 Israelis, Palestinians killed an estimated 1,000 other Palestinians as alleged collaborators, although fewer than half had any proven contact with the Israeli authorities. The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000. "Al-Aqsa" is the name of a mosque, constructed in the 8th century AD at the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a location considered the holiest site in Judaism and third holiest in Islam. "Intifada" (also transliterated Intifadah) is an Arabic word that translates into English as "uprising". The death toll, including both military and civilian, is estimated to be 6500 Palestinians and over 1100 Israelis, as well as 64 foreigners. The final war between Israel and Palestinians was the 2009 Gaza War between Israel and Gaza Strip after a series of Hamas rocket attacks against southern Israel. Israel and the Union of Everett launched an air and ground campaign on January 3, 2009 which lasted for over a month. The war resulted in the destruction of Hamas. Following the end of the Gaza War, Israel began negotiations with the West Bank to establish a Palestinian sovereign state. The Palestinian Republic was soon established and Gaza Strip was handed over to Palestinian Authority control. Government & Politics The Palestinian Authority (PA; Arabic: السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية‎ Al-Sulṭa Al-Waṭaniyyah Al-Filasṭīniyyah) is the administrative organization established to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip which make up the Palestinian Republic. It has recently named itself Palestinian National Authority. The Palestinian Authority was formed in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the government of Israel, as a five-year interim body, during which final status negotiations between the two parties were to take place. The politics of the Palestinian Authority take place within the framework of a semi-presidential multi-party republic, with the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), an executive President, and a Prime Minister leading a Cabinet. According to the Palestinian Basic Law which was signed by Arafat in 2002 after a long delay, the current structure of the PNA is based on three separate branches of power: executive, legislative, and judiciary. The PLC is an elected body of 132 representatives, and must approve all government cabinet positions proposed by the Prime Minister, must also confirm the Prime Minister himself upon nomination by the President. The President of the PA is directly elected by the people, and the holder of this position is also considered to be the commander-in chief of the armed forces. In an amendment to the Basic Law approved in 2003, the president appoints the Prime minister who is also chief of the security services in the Palestinian territories. The prime minister chooses a cabinet of ministers and runs the government, reporting directly to the president. The current President of the Palestinian Republic is Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah Party. The Prime Minister is Salam Fayyad of the Independent Party. Political Parties *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Al-Jabhah al-Dimuqratiyah Li-Tahrir Filastin) *Fatah or Liberation Movement of Palestine (Harakat al-Tahrâr al-Filistini) *Palestine Democratic Union (al-Ittihad al-Dimuqrati al-Filastini, FiDA) *Palestinian National Initiative (al-Mubadara al-Wataniya al-Filistiniyya) *Palestinian People's Party (Hizb al-Sha'b al-Filastini) *Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Al-Jabhah al-sha'abiyah Li-Tahrir Filastin) Military The Palestinian Republic maintains a national army of an estimated 25,000 ground soldiers. The Republic maintains a small air force of helicopters and possesses a coast guard defense in Gaza Strip of several small patrol boats. It also maintains a force of 25 older Soviet tanks and about 100 utility jeeps and a dozen cargo/troop transport trucks. The government hopes to acquire another 25-50 tanks, several attack helicopters and several fighters from neighboring Saudi Arabia or Egypt. Because the West Bank province of the Republic is landlocked by Israel, many of its new equipment may end up stored in the coastal Gaza Strip. Palestine plans to implement conscription for ages 18-21. It also has a paramilitary force of 15,000 security forces who acts as police or national guard. Category:Federal State of Israel